King Lear by William Shakespeare "A man more against than a sinner" King Lear is one of Shakespeare's most complex works and within it many different themes are addressed and explored. King Lear is the somewhat unfortunate vehicle that Shakespeare uses to explore many of these themes by creating a complex character that encompasses the roles of father, king, friend, and adversary. Since Lear is not a simple character, he cannot simply be classified as good or bad. ; one can argue that he is a bad father and king, but does that make Lear a bad man? Does he deserve the suffering he endures? Furthermore, when Lear talks about sin, who is he talking to? Since sin is generally defined as a violation of religious or moral law, so is Lear speaking to God in this speech, or is he thinking in terms of his tormentors and victims on earth? Lear's sins as a father are quite unique and therefore difficult to analyze. He first asks his three daughters to announce their great love for him so he can reward them with parts of his kingdom, Cordellia is brutally honest with her response and states "[I love you] according to my bond; neither more nor less". Lear subsequently banishes Cordellia, and so Lear's suffering begins. She then divides her kingdom between Regan and Goneril, which in itself was a foolish thing to do since the responsibility and power suddenly given to these two sisters could have easily corrupted them. Then he arrives at his daughter's house with a large group of unruly k... middle of paper... instead of sinning, but this is still a difficult concept to judge. What I feel is clear, however, is that the sins Lear committed he paid for not only through suffering but through redemption. This is far more significant than a simple count of who has sinned against whom, but more than a measure of Lear's soul and his willingness to right his wrongs. Lear's journey is complete, from king to man, from sinner to pure, from artifice to nature. The only thing that connects all the various journeys is that they all end in death, but when Lear dies, what audience could expect him to now be in hell? I think there is little doubt that Lear will ascend to heaven, that he will have paid for all the sins he has committed and will have been redeemed. Leonard Tennenhouse, The Theater of Punishment 1986R. B. Sewall, The Vision of Tragedy 1959Arnold Kettle, Literature and Liberation: Selected Essays 1988